Pages

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Book Review: The Natural Victim by Peter Reynard

Peter Reynard

“Like a skinny lumberjack.” That’s how the unnamed narrator
of The Natural Victim describes Deiter Fox, the energetic, tall, blonde,
bearded grad student and fan of detective fiction who happily accepts when Eric
Wanbois invites him to prove his innocence in the murder of his lab mate, Jason
Stampos.

Stampos was not well liked. In fact, the more Deiter and his
unnamed “Watson” look into his history, the larger the list of potential
suspects seems to grow. Set in 1999 on the Ohio State University Campus in
Columbus, Ohio, The Natural Victim by Peter Reynard is a closed door mystery
with a twist. Records indicate that the accused used his pass card to visit the
hall where the murder occurred on three separate occasions that fateful night.
Witnesses alibi the client, but police are unconvinced. The accused had means,
motive and apparent opportunity; and besides, there is what amounts to a holographic direct
accusation in the form of Eric Wanbois’ name flashing on the victim’s computer
monitor.

By the final chapter, Reynard has crafted a classic mystery
denouement with all of the suspects assembled and all of the evidence and facts
laid out in a buffet of reason and order. Among the pluses: the chapters are
short and the technology is described in an accessible way. For the minuses:
the characters could be more fully drawn in a longer version of the story, and
the unique world which is Ohio State might have been better colored-in; but for
the reader looking simply for the plot-is-king Dragnet version, The Natural
Victim has a satisfying arc that builds suspense by revealing clues and shining
a light on the process of the obsessive not-quite-a-genius.

The last time I talked to Cynthia I had paid very little attention to her, since she was just another name on a long list. I looked at her more closely now. She was a short, slightly stocky girl with a ready smile. Her dark hair was in a loose ponytail, and I noticed now that she liked to tug on it and play with it as she talked. She seemed surprised to see me again but was agreeable enough to spare us a few minutes. We pulled up a couple of chairs and sat down. As I had been the one to talk to her the last time around, I took the lead again.

"Why didn't you tell me you used to date Jason?" I asked.

She stopped leaning back in her chair and sat up straight. "Because… because it was a long time ago and it’s none of your business."

"Look, we just want to make sure we know everything. And anything, even the littlest thing, could potentially help Eric," I said.

She didn't reply, but the wariness in her face relaxed. Then Dieter took a chance.

"Cynthia, someone saw you leave Jason's lab that night."

Her face crumpled and her body slumped back in her chair. "I swear he was alive when I left him," she said. “I can prove I was home by 12:30 that night, long before he was dead," she added desperately.

Dieter took another shot in the dark. "Was he blackmailing you?" he asked.

Subscribe To

Follow by Email

Like the Facebook Page

Read Indies

Have you checked out ... ?

About Me

With a profound interest in religion, liberal politics and humor, Dave began writing in high school and has not given up on it since. His first professional writing jobs came while attending the Art Institute of Pittsburgh when he was hired to create political cartoons for the Pitt News and to write humor pieces for Smile Magazine. Dave has worked in the newspaper industry as a photographer, in the online publishing industry as a weekly contributor to Streetmail.com, and was a contributing writer to the Buzz On series of informational books, and his story, The Bet in Red Dust, appeared in the Western online anthology, Elbow Creek. Dave’s science fiction novel, Synthetic Blood and Mixed Emotions, is available from its publisher, writewordsinc.com.
Dave currently resides in his childhood home in Toronto, OH with his beautiful girlfriend and his teenage daughter. He enjoys participating in local community events and visiting with his two adult children and his grandkids. Join the Facebook fan-page at https://www.facebook.com/Lupaschwartzmysteries.